Godfather Of Champions

Instead, he had to be clear about his objective for the youth team—a result he could give to Edward Doughty to prove that he was the best manager for the Forest team and not anyone else.

The First Team had resumed training, and most of the players were surprised when they saw their new manager. They probably did not understand why Tony Twain, who had performed so well in the second half of the last season, was replaced by the new chairman with the inexperienced Stan Collymore.

But this was football. Who could clearly explain what happened behind the scenes?

Edward inherited his old manʼs, Nigel Doughtyʼs, shares in the club. Although he was the chairman, he did not have absolute power within the club. A lot of matters required the board of directors to convene and decide. This was what Edward and his financial advisor, Allan Adams, detested. They wanted to transform Nottingham Forest into a modern enterprise, like the Edwards familyʼs Manchester United. But the board was very wary of the two Americans and was always a hindrance.

Edward had already invested £500,000 into the club to repay the debts owed to the bank. After the team officially started the summer training, he announced again that the transfer budget for this season was about £3,000,000.

After hearing this piece of news, Tang En could only sigh that the lecher had better luck than him. If he had been given so much money six months ago, he could have guaranteed that the Forest team would now be readying for the Premier League matches, and he would not have been dismissed for the team not being promoted.

Ah, this is really life!

The Forest youth team assembled two days after the First Team, and what slightly gratified Tang En was that the lads were delighted when he appeared at the youth training ground and was introduced by David Kerslake as the new head of the youth team. No one had any objections. Tang En knew that his performance with the First Team had laid a solid foundation for both now and in the future. He had already demonstrated his ability, and now he did not need to establish any kind of authority with the youth team. This group of boys would listen to him. He only needed to consider how to lead the team to play with good results.

Tang En was not quite sure how to coach the youth team, so he simply transferred the same style that he had adopted for the First Team. He just needed to achieve good results. All else would be taken care of by David Kerslake, and everything would be fine. Normally, the youth team would be grooming players to be substitutes for the First Team. But Tang En did not want to pour in his utmost effort for Collymore. He earnestly wished that the lecherous maniac would be fired soon due to bad performance. If he wanted a player from his team, the answer would be, ”No way!”

Wes Morgan, who had briefly played a few matches for the Forest First Team during the end phase of last season, had returned to the youth team and continued to be the team captain. With him there together with Tang En, he believed that everything would go smoothly.

As for George Wood, Tang En had agreed to stay, partly because he did not want to see this kidʼs career come to a premature end. He knew very well that except for him, no one could manage the kid. If he had left, then it would be harder to predict Woodʼs fate. He firmly believed that George Wood had a great talent. In addition, he had seen this kidʼs attitude toward football. As long as he had a good coach, there would be another star player in the English football world in the next few years—a ferocious defensive midfielder machine.

Tang En released Wood from his solo training and allowed him to train with the team. He believed with him on the sidelines, the kid would exercise restraint. In addition to his personal skills, the most important part of being a defensive midfielder was teamwork and an excellent awareness. And all these required him to train with the team so that he could accumulate the experience.

When Tang En began to strive again in the youth team, Collymore was not idle. His frequent attendance at various press conferences, cocktail receptions, and dinner parties was a marvelous time for him. That feeling of living again under the spotlight was too wonderful for words.